ROH WAR OF THE WIRE

 

ROH WAR OF THE WIRE 11/29/03


AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
This is as hard hitting as one would expect and has some neat, interesting bits of storytelling with AJ having to counter Joe's big size advantage. Joe is on top for a lot of the match, and it's of course some pretty great stuff with his arsenal looking brutal as always & AJ bumping like AJ does for it. That's already a winning combination, but then you add in AJ's explosive, vicious n' excellent comebacks, and you got a real kick-ass bout. Going back to that interesting storytelling mention, I also really liked the whole little narrative they did with AJ busting out big power moves on Joe, which ultimately caused him to essentially gas himself out. ***3/4

Homicide vs. Steve Corino
It's a No Ropes Barbed Wire match to end this feud. When you talk about pure nastiness & sheer violence, this probably ups their previous match. There's some stuff here that's legitimately pretty hard to watch, and I mean that in the best way possible. I don't think it's as good overall as that said Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies match-up of theirs though, but it's not far off. One slight negative that bothered me was Homicide going for multiple flash roll-ups in the beginning; it didn't fit the match, and it ESPECIALLY didn't fit Homicide of all people at all. Other than that, this was him & Corino doing pro-wrestling grudge match violence brilliantly, once again. ****1/4